Burglary suspect accused of setting fire in E.B., stealing car in Milltown
By sandi carpellO
Staff Writer
A New Brunswick man was charged last Friday in connection with a series of area burglaries in which homes were methodically broken into using automatic garage-door openers taken from cars parked on the driveway.
Shaun Austin, 23, has been charged in five burglaries and an arson, all in East Brunswick, and with the burglary of an occupied dwelling and the theft of a motor vehicle in Milltown. He has been charged in similar burglaries in Clark Township and Highland Park, according to police.
At the time of his arrest on those charges, Austin was already being held at the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center, North Brunswick, due to his arrest on an unrelated traffic warrant out of South Plainfield, police said.
Police charged Austin in the Oct. 14 burglary on Sullivan Way in East Brunswick in which the suspect allegedly set the master bedroom on fire and stole jewelry and a camcorder after breaking into the homeowner’s vehicle, using the remote garage-door opener to enter the garage, and opening the interior door with a pry bar.
He has been charged with aggravated arson in that incident, which took place around 11 a.m.
Police accused Austin of committing four other burglaries in East Brunswick between that date and Oct. 25. In all cases, they said, garage-door openers were removed from cars parked on the driveways.
In Milltown, Austin has been charged in the overnight burglary of a home Oct. 27-28 on North Moetz Drive in which the suspect again broke into a resident’s car on the driveway and used a garage-door opener to enter the residence, which was occupied at the time.
Once inside, the suspect allegedly stole an undetermined amount of cash and a purse. Having taken the car keys from a key holder inside the home, the suspect then stole the resident’s 1986 Dodge Aries, borough police said. The vehicle was located on Nov. 1 by New Brunswick police on Plum Street in New Brunswick.
Upon responding to the scene of the located vehicle, Milltown Police Lt. Roy Manfredi and East Brunswick Detective Robert Kearsten received a tip from a Highland Park detective concerning Austin’s alleged involvement in similar burglaries in Clark Township.
Austin, a resident of High Street in New Brunswick, had been arrested in Clark when he was found near the scene of a burglary in which a garage door opener was used to gain entry, and was held on the warrant charge, according to police. He was later questioned by police from each of the municipalities and charged in the burglaries.
His bail was set at $50,000 with no 10-percent option.
The stolen vehicle was transported to the East Brunswick Police Department for processing and later was released to the owner.

